Jump to content

PREGAME: Rd 14 vs Port Adelaide

Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

3 hours ago, picket fence said:

Who gives a collective fuuuurg, season shot !!

Let's try not to give Essendon a top 5 pick at least.

    •
    • Like 4
     
    1 hour ago, William said:

    He has been abysmal all season and should not be played again. He is not the answer long-term and we might be able to get something from trading.

    Tom McDonald should be playing and now the season is done we should see whether M. Jefferson can do the trick. I stood next to him today in the Betty Cuthbert room and he is one tall fellow which doesn’t mean he will work but he has the height.

    I especially like D. Turner today who can take some great marks. But they should leave him in defence.

    Petty is also not the answer down forward - he is quite languid and doesn’t seem to be able to hold his marks.

    1 hour ago, William said:

    He has been abysmal all season and should not be played again. He is not the answer long-term and we might be able to get something from trading.

    Tom McDonald should be playing and now the season is done we should see whether M. Jefferson can do the trick. I stood next to him today in the Betty Cuthbert room and he is one tall fellow which doesn’t mean he will work but he has the height.

    I especially like D. Turner today who can take some great marks. But they should leave him in defence.

    Petty is also not the answer down forward - he is quite languid and doesn’t seem to be able to hold his marks.

    Don’t want to turn this into a aa JVR pile on but hard to argue that he hasn’t regressed. No idea what his KPI’s are but doesn’t seem to be offering much to the naked eye. A few times today he seemed to hesitate when ball was in dispute. He doesn’t get great delivery but when ball hits deck he seems nowhere to be seen. Defensively, he and Fritsch can be hard ti watch at times. Would love JVR ro prove me wrong but he seems to have plateaued.

    • Like 1
    1 hour ago, picket fence said:

    JVR was abysmal today and you want to keep him in??? Why?

    With you on this. Gob smacked that JVR got a game in the first place. Has had ample chances and gives us nothing. His mate Petty was similar and whilst Fritta kicked 3 his efforts without the pill was ordinary at best and IMO probably lost us the game with blatant stupid decisions.

    Viney if fit for Langford who needs a rest and Jeffo for JVR plus if weather is OK play Campbell to give Gawn a break or if not throw Petty in the relief ruck role and toughen him up.

    •
    • Like 2
     
    26 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

    Until we can't make the finals we have to continue picking best 22. However, I want to see Jefferson and JVR in the same team, with Melk, Fritsch and Kozzie playing around them. I know these two younger boys haven't shown too much but I still believe they can.

    Pick the best 22 but also gift games to KPFs that are the definition of struggle…

    It’s not as black and white as an ‘either or’ - but is not far from it.

    1 hour ago, ElDiablo14 said:

    Petty should become May's replacement eventually. Stop with the experiment at Fwd.

    Agreed

    But Turner must stay back IMO. He's going to be our best tall defender over the next decade

    We desperately need to find a couple of key forwards... anyone who can kick straight

    •
    • Like 2

     
    17 minutes ago, Stiff Arm said:

    Agreed

    But Turner must stay back IMO. He's going to be our best tall defender over the next decade

    We desperately need to find a couple of key forwards... anyone who can kick straight

    Or take contested marks.

    JVR had a rough first half but came in to it a bit more and looked more confident fighting for position and jumping at the ball. I'd give him another week. He only played 60% game time, so take out the stints in the ruck and he actually wasn't forward all that much.

    Where's the Viney was only a 1 week injury coming from? Official update is TBC. I wouldn't pick him until after the bye. He needs touch work after such a long time out, and I'm still not entirely sure how he fits in our midfield balance.

    I think the big question is whether they want to persevere with Howes and what they want to do with Windsor. Obviously the bye is coming up after next week but I'd probably go with Windsor on the wing and Lindsay as sub and then reassess after the bye.

    •
    • Like 1

    8 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    JVR had a rough first half but came in to it a bit more and looked more confident fighting for position and jumping at the ball. I'd give him another week. He only played 60% game time, so take out the stints in the ruck and he actually wasn't forward all that much.

    Where's the Viney was only a 1 week injury coming from? Official update is TBC. I wouldn't pick him until after the bye. He needs touch work after such a long time out, and I'm still not entirely sure how he fits in our midfield balance.

    I think the big question is whether they want to persevere with Howes and what they want to do with Windsor. Obviously the bye is coming up after next week but I'd probably go with Windsor on the wing and Lindsay as sub and then reassess after the bye.

    Viney said pre game on triple M today.

    •
    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

    Viney said pre game on triple M today.

    Doesn't fill me with confidence that he's ready to perform.

    3 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

    Diabolical fixturing not to give us a bye now, but instead a road trip off a 6 day break, followed by two more road trips.

    The bye is the AFL's way of hiding the fact that we have 3 interstate trips in a row.

    Only team subjected to that this year and quite possibly the last time it happened was 2020 during covid

    • Angry 2

    Seniors

    B: Lever, May, McVee

    HB: Salem, Turner, Bowey

    C: Langdon, Oliver, Langford

    HF: Sparrow, Petty, Petracca

    F: Fritsch, Melksham, Chandler

    FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Pickett

    IC: Lindsay, Rivers, Howes, van Rooyen

    SUB: Tholstrup

    EMERG: Windsor, Laurie, Jefferson

    Casey

    B: Hore, Adams, Smith

    HB: Sestan, McDonald, Bonner

    C: Billings, Laurie, Windsor

    HF: Sharp, Kentfield, Henderson

    F: Fullerton, Jefferson, Mentha

    FOLL: Campbell, Woewodin, Culley

    IC: Verrall, Brown, Hardie, Baldi, Yze

    •
    • Love 1

    13 minutes ago, Superunknown said:

    Drop fritsch for that burn that may have cost us the game

    Does it every.single.game but yet never gets dropped even for his lack of defensive efforts.

    He'll play next week.

    Probably rest one of Langford or Lindsay and bring in Laurie for a 4 quarter game. I think Viney should wait till after the bye and Jefferson needs to keep doing what he’s doing at Casey. I’d like to see Howes stay in as he was more than solid. Adam’s and Culley are the other 2 I’d like to see get some games. Play like that every week and we’re a top 4 team. My worry now becomes can the players keep doing that now that finals are so unlikely. One more loss could see us just drop our heads enough to lose more than we win. Disappointing season considering just how well we can play and how with just a few tweaks we’re Premiership material.

    Yesterday: reminded me of those days you’d bang your rolled up record on to the back of the wooden bench seat in front of you. Had about a dozen of those moments yesterday.

    Edited by Roost it far

    • Like 1
    24 minutes ago, Superunknown said:

    Drop fritsch for that burn that may have cost us the game

    Fritsch did not burn his teammate in that play, the mistake he made was to play on. He didn’t realise Quaynor was that close to him, he’d barely taken two steps before he was closed down. Should’ve gone back and taken the set shot. That’s the way I saw it from ground level and I thought that was his best game of the year by a mile.

    • Like 15
    • Love 1

    We lost to the top team by one point! Why all the gnashing of teeth here?

    The only change I would consider would be bringing in Viney if he's ready. I'm not sure who for, though. As much as I want to get games into the first and second year players, perhaps one of them needs a rest?

    • Like 4

    Fritsch won't be getting dropped but the question needs to be asked: did the 19 out of 41 points he contributed to our second half score outweighed the negatives throughout the game? You'd say probably and you'd also imagine that Port would rather he play for Casey than the MFC next week.

    Re Melksham being rested: once again that's giving Port a bit of a gift and he can rest up at the bye.

    I think we're a chance in this one. It's best to get sides after they've had a big/unexpected/inspiring win (per Port over GWS) as they might not be as mentally up for the game than if they were coming off a bad loss with a point to prove. Collingwood had a season best win over Hawthorn last weekend and perhaps weren't at their peak yesterday. Conversely, we got Freo, Richmond and Sydney after easy or inspiring wins.

    I felt way more dejected after the Saint loss last week than yesterday. Thought we did ourselves proud aside from the usual issues that haven't been resolved.

    •
    • Like 1
    1 hour ago, Dee Zephyr said:

    Fritsch did not burn his teammate in that play, the mistake he made was to play on. He didn’t realise Quaynor was that close to him, he’d barely taken two steps before he was closed down. Should’ve gone back and taken the set shot. That’s the way I saw it from ground level and I thought that was his best game of the year by a mile.

    Fair enough - ta

    • Like 1
     

    I understand fellow DLs being upset after yesterdays game, but I really don't think it's time to swing the axe. As mentioned above, we lost to the top team by 1 point.

    In regards to the pile on for Petty and JVR, I don't think it was a great day for tall forwards, and while Howe did beat Petty, Petty did get to a lot of contests and got on the scoreboard. As mentioned above, JVR only played 60% of the game, which is probably a question for another thread, but worked harder than earlier in the season where he was unsighted.

    It should be remembered that he's been playing in front of 4 blokes and a dog in the magoos, then goes out in front of 80,000 with questionable confidence.

    As for the rest of the changes, Viney should come in if he's fit. I'd give Kolt a spell and really try and work up some form and fitness.

    The big issue for me is Windsor. They're clearly trying to get him to be a HBF, but it's really not working at this point. Given we have Bowey and Salem, I'd argue it probably isn't pressing. I'd give him back the wing and let Lindsay learn.

    •
    • Like 4
    16 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

    Surely Petty is dropped?

    Not sure if it would be worth trying TMac at Fwd.

    He can hardly be worse than JVR and Petty. But we are now not viaing for a finals spot so let's try some guys at Casey to see if they have any worth at senior level. Jefferson comes in for JVR as a start. Leave Petty in to do the second ruckwork. It's now 2026 preparation time.


    Guest
    This topic is now closed to further replies.
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • WHAT’S NEXT? by The Oracle

      What’s next for a beleagured Melbourne Football Club down in form and confidence, facing  intense criticism and disapproval over some underwhelming recent performances and in the midst of a four game losing streak? Why, it’s Adelaide which boasts the best percentage in the AFL and has won six of its last seven games. The Crows are hot and not only that, the game is at the Adelaide Oval; yet another away fixture and the third in a row at a venue outside of Victoria. One of the problems the Demons have these days is that they rarely have the luxury of true home ground advantage, something they have enjoyed just once since mid April. 

      • 2 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Gold Coast

      From the start, Melbourne’s performance against the Gold Coast Suns at Peoples First Stadium was nothing short of a massive botch up and it came down in the first instance to poor preparation. Rather than adequately preparing the team for battle against an opponent potentially on the skids after suffering three consecutive losses, the Demons looking anything but sharp and ready to play in the opening minutes of the game. By way of contrast, the Suns demonstrated a clear sense of purpose and will to win. From the very first bounce of the ball they were back to where they left off earlier in the season in Round Three when the teams met at the MCG. They ran rings around the Demons and finished the game off with a dominant six goal final term. This time, they produced another dominant quarter to start the game, restricting Melbourne to a solitary point to lead by six goals at the first break, by which time, the game was all but over.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Gold Coast

      Coming off four consecutive victories and with a team filled with 17 AFL listed players, the Casey Demons took to their early morning encounter with the lowly Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium with the swagger of a team that thought a win was inevitable. They were smashing it for the first twenty minutes of the game after Tom Fullarton booted the first two goals but they then descended into an abyss of frustrating poor form and lackadaisical effort that saw the swagger and the early arrogance disappear by quarter time when their lead was overtaken by a more intense and committed opponent. The Suns continued to apply the pressure in the second quarter and got out to a three goal lead in mid term before the Demons fought back. A late goal to the home side before the half time bell saw them ten points up at the break and another surge in the third quarter saw them comfortably up with a 23 point lead at the final break.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Rd 17 vs Adelaide

      With their season all over bar the shouting the Demons head back on the road for the third week in a row as they return to Adelaide to take on the Crows. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Like
      • 199 replies
      Demonland

    • POSTGAME: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

      The Demons did not come to play from the opening bounce and let the Gold Coast kick the first 5 goals of the match. They then outscored the Suns for the next 3 quarters but it was too little too late and their season is now effectively over.

        • Haha
      • 231 replies
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

      Max Gawn has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award ahead of Jake Bowey, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Kysaiah Pickett. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Like
      • 41 replies
      Demonland
    View All